Scandinavian Review

Magazine covers all aspects of life in contemporary Scandinavia emphasizing art and design, industrial development, business, political, economic, and social issues.

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Articles from Vol. 88, No. 1, Spring

Bergen: Norway's Year 2000 City of Culture

Bergen, a salty seaport on Norway's west coast, is relatively small in size with a compact, strollable downtown. Its location between the North Sea and an arc of seven scenic mountains is often likened to the seven hills of ancient Rome. The sea juts...

With the opening of the longest bridge in Europe on July 1, two Nordic countries were connected by a 10 mile, $3 billion bridge and tunnel system that crosses the Oresund strait, the narrow passage of water between Denmark and the southern part of Sweden....

A winding oak-lined lane leads into the peaceful village of Fiskars, some 50 miles west of Helsinki. Hard as it is to believe, this is Finland's oldest industrial site, dating back to the mid-17th century. Today, this hamlet of 600 is quietly emerging...

Besides celebrating its 450th birthday, Finland's capital is serving as one of the nine European Cities of Culture for the Year 2000, giving Helsinki - and the entire country - a chance to appear upon the world stage. Helsinki's goals for the year are...

Stockholm has changed enormously in recent years, but unlike alterations in many other capitals, the changes have been for the better. It's impossible to erase completely the follies of the 1960s, when much of the town's historic center was destroyed...

Ever since 1985, the European nations have elected one of their cities to reign as Cultural Capital for the year. The late Greek actress Melina Mercouri, star of Never on Sunday and a host of other hit films, came up with the idea during her term as...

New Year's Eve is always gregarious in Oslo. Regardless of the weather, the city's authorities never fail to provide a spectacular fireworks display over the harbor, and the city's residents always appreciate it. Bundled up in well-selected layers of...

Culture is one of the Icelanders' most treasured possessions, with a history going back to the Viking settlement of the country more than eleven centuries ago. But it isn't always visible to the outsider. To pass the long, dark winter nights in their...

Caroline Cavallo, an American dancer from Atlanta, Georgia, could not imagine what it would be like to live in Denmark, but she already knew what it would be like to dance there. A brief stateside encounter with its unique Danish dance style had given...

It is only an hour's drive from Helsinki to Lahti, a middle-sized business and industrial center often referred to as Finland's "most American" city. Situated on the shores of Lake Vesijarvi, it is a popular recreation area. In the summer, the scenic...

One last question for Stig Andersen (the G is silent), the athletic tenor from Denmark. Suppose singing had not worked out. What would he have done instead? "I am a ceramicist," he answers. "I make pots. I like to work against some resistance. I don't...

Stockholm's number-one sightseeing attraction is the 17th century Vasa warship, which capsized and sank twenty minutes after embarking on a trial run, laden with cannons and guns, in 1628. The ship lay on the seabed for centuries until a private marine...

There are a number of things that will immediately strike the American who visits a Danish provincial town: first and foremost, the sense of history. Many towns give clear evidence of their medieval origins, not only in the buildings and monuments which...

Most visitors to Stockholm tour the 600-room Royal Palace in the Old Town, but fewer visit the numerous beautiful country palaces on the shores of nearby Lake Malaren. An excursion to this area, set in a lush scenic landscape west of the Swedish capital,...

In post-World War II Norway, a central focus of public policy has been an effort to preserve traditional ways of life by using North Sea oil revenues to fund farm subsidies and social programs aimed at keeping people in rural areas. But today modernization...

Set Seppo Kimanen rolling on the subject of festivals, and you 're more likely to hear a critique of today's consumer society than a discussion of the relative merits of Beethoven's string quartets. That's a paradox, because after running a chamber music...